Let's Build a Mountain! Step Three: Contemplate the Compensation
Elizabeth Stoops
Project Manager + Requirements Writing Machine +Workflow Optimizer
In 2022 I was laid off from a tech job just before layoffs became the cool thing to do. What followed was a year of job-searching hell that showed me that both traditional and trendy recruiting practices are as well suited to the current tech landscape as a cheap pool floatie is to river rapids. Companies aren't getting what they need, even with a glut of candidates on the market. Candidates can't land an interview, even with companies begging for talent.
It sucks for everyone and it doesn't have to. Join me for a boots-on-the-ground guide to navigating this mess.
Remember that building a mountain of candidates isn't rocket science!
Today we're going to challenge assumptions about compensation.
I've heard people in hiring often comment about what they think tech people (which always seems to be an ex-googler, former facebookers, etc, etc, which really isn't the typical tech worker) want in a job. Companies and recruiters worry that they can't offer attractive wages, can't offer meaningful perks, and in general convince themselves that either they just can't compete for tech candidates, or they should assume that the role will be a revolving door as candidates will always chase bigger money. It's not true, and these assumptions seem to be made due to a misunderstanding of why big tech offers crazy wages, mad perks, and massive onboarding bonuses or gifts.
Before I address those assumptions, let me say this – do your best and rest assured that most of the people who self-select into your process are happy with what's on offer.
How do you do your best? Keep reading.
Assumption #1: BIG NUMBERS! NO, BIGGER!
Rebuttal: You don't need to offer bay area wages if you don't demand people work in the bay area!
It can be hard to understand just how ridiculously expensive the Bay Area is. Everything is desperately expensive and those crazy high paychecks barely keep up. It especially can't be overstated how absolutely psychotic housing prices are. An okay apartment in a lousy part of Hayward, which represents about a 2 hour drive to and from worksites in silicon valley is 2600 dollars. This apartment is really suitable only for two people who are pretty close. I know, I lived there myself. A small child or baby might have been okay, but I can't imagine having an older kid and two adults in there. If you want to have a normal family life without a soul-crushing commute, condos and very small family homes start at just under a million dollars. A soul crushing commute will get you under that price, but well, your soul probably isn't a worthwhile tradeoff. California taxes create a compound issue. When I was in California, I took home about 63% of my paycheck. In Idaho, I take home closer to 75%. California is even more expensive than people imagine.
So taking a pay cut to leave can actually be a massive raise in terms of real spending power. In fact, personally I was willing to take almost a 50% pay cut to not live in the bay area. People who are willing to leave the bay area are very unlikely to expect to make bay area wages when working for a small midwestern company. These are smart people, and smart people realize there's a cost of living adjustment when you decamp an overcooked market.
As long as your salary compensation package is consistent with your regional market (and absolutely double check that it is, don't just wing it!), you will absolutely attract well-qualified, attractive candidates to the role. Offering more money will get more attention, it always does, but you don't need bay area salaries in the 'burbs to turn heads.
Assumption #2: Perk Parity or Bust!
Rebuttal: You don't need to offer perks to offset conditions that don't exist!
Next problem? People get panicky about perk parity. Yes, people in the bay area got a lot of perks. On site food, on site laundry, on site massages. On site day care. On site (get this, really, it was a thing) car fueling. Yes, your car would get gassed up without you going to the pump. Yes, the primary driving idea behind perks was to keep people at work, but perks like this were also in response to insane commute times. (I knew people who commuted three hours a day, one way. That meant they had 14 hours a day dedicated to work activities.) But the reality was, as the commute became more congested and took longer, those perks didn't make it possible to stay at work 'forever', they made it possible to function at all.
Very few locations have a commute that touches the horror that is bay area or even Seattle metro rush hour traffic. If you don't have a gnarly commute, or if you don't have a commute at all, you don't need to offset it. If you don't demand people live at the office, you don't need to provide laundry service. If you provide flexible work hours, you don't need to build in a daycare, and if you don't overwork people, you don't need to have rehab benefits (also a thing.)
That said, offering something that sets you apart is still a strong play. Many companies have keyed in one of the legendary perks and decided to offer it. The trouble I see is that this is a little prescriptive. The advantage big tech gained by offering so many different free or subsidized perks was at least one of them would be truly beneficial to any employee. If they all were, that was a bonus. But they knew each employee could appreciate at least one perk. A smaller company selecting one perk limits them to employees who find that perk attractive. A better choice would be offering a cafeteria plan from several curated perks. That way, the employee can choose the perk that they love the most. Maybe it's the free meals, maybe it's the yearly technology/home office stipend, maybe it's the continuing education.
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People who aren't given a perk they can use aren't going to feel very valued. A choice of perks (and maybe even the option to select their own similarly-priced perk) goes a long way in making them feel individually valued, which is more or less the point of perks.
And that brings me to my next point.
Assumption #3: At Onboard, Go overboard!
Rebuttal: The thought really counts.
Onboarding gifts or bonuses aren't really compensation, but they fit in best here. I think any sign on bonus can be a nice boost to morale, but I think that onboarding gifts have become much more popular than bonuses. They have also become pre-packaged and cheap. I promise you that no new hire needs a company-branded pen, a cheap, standard coffee cup with the company logo, and a basic black logo hoodie. I see entirely too many new hires who get these. (I'm somewhat glad the cheap to-go cup and 'premium' water bottle craze seems to be over, however.)
If you are doing ho-hum onboarding gifts, or you are thinking about ho-hum onboarding gifts, don't. Back up. Let's think about what on boarding gifts are meant to convey to your new hire.
Onboarding gifts tell a story about:
A $1.25 personalized coffee cup, clicky pen, and a run-of-the-mill hoodie doesn't tell a good story.
Let's compare that to the stories told by two unique gifts: the first one is a company-branded hammock.
And the second one: a company-branded locally-produced oversized coffee mug (no two alike!)
You might have gathered it's the second two points that are really critical. People need a real token of initiation, and they need to feel like they are expected to fit right in like they've been there the whole time.
But let me suggest an alternative approach to the on boarding gift. Choose three things – one thing that represents company culture. One thing that represents the team (the token of initiation) and one thing that represents how well you know the candidate from the interviews. (Bonus, figuring out this one will absolutely help you make better interviewing choices.)
Consider the story this onboarding gift set tells: the candidate receives a locally-produced object d'art, a branded magic eight ball (everyone on the financial forecast gets one!), and (since the candidate has mentioned their love of chocolate) a medium-sized box of See's chocolates. Wow. Who wouldn't be absolutely stoked on their first day if they saw that ready and waiting for them? Taking this approach also gives you a small, but awesome talking point for your job posting; you have baller onboarding gifts.
Next up, grab your tackle box – I mean your completed job posting – we're going fishing.
Business Development | Proposal Management Consultant
2 年So many companies don't seem to realize that hiring should be a fair trade...or that while they are sizing up candidates and new hires, those employees are also observing them. Onboarding is critical...but as you point out, it's also an ART.